U.S. patent application number 14/145025 was filed with the patent office on 2014-07-03 for methods and apparatus for providing social viewing of media content.
The applicant listed for this patent is DISH DIGITAL L.L.C.. Invention is credited to Scott Pead.
Application Number | 20140189540 14/145025 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 51018822 |
Filed Date | 2014-07-03 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140189540 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Pead; Scott |
July 3, 2014 |
METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING SOCIAL VIEWING OF MEDIA
CONTENT
Abstract
A method for social viewing of media content includes
transmitting, to multiple users, media content when the multiple
users are members of a common group associated with a social media
site (i.e., "friends" or the like) while providing, to the users,
an interaction region configured to allow the first user and the
second user to share comments with each other regarding the media
content via an interaction stream.
Inventors: |
Pead; Scott; (Englewood,
CO) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
DISH DIGITAL L.L.C. |
Englewood |
CO |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
51018822 |
Appl. No.: |
14/145025 |
Filed: |
December 31, 2013 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61747583 |
Dec 31, 2012 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
715/753 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 50/01 20130101;
H04L 65/403 20130101; G06Q 10/10 20130101; G06F 3/0484
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
715/753 |
International
Class: |
H04L 29/06 20060101
H04L029/06; G06F 3/0484 20060101 G06F003/0484 |
Claims
1. A method for social viewing of media content, comprising:
transmitting, to a first user, media content via a network;
transmitting, to a second user, the media content via the network,
wherein the second user and the first user are members of a common
group associated with a social media site; and providing, to the
first and second users, an interaction region configured to allow
the first user and the second user to share comments regarding the
media content via an interaction stream.
2. The method of claim 1, further including transmitting a
notification to the second user indicating that the first user is
currently viewing the media content.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the notification further includes
a user interface component offering the second user the capability
of viewing the media content simultaneously with the first
user.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the interaction stream includes
time-stamp information indicating times relative to the media
content that the comments were shared.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the interaction steam is
presented to the second user after the first user has viewed the
media content and shared comments within the interaction
stream.
6. The method of claim 1, further including a social media stream
provided to at least one of the first and second users while the
first user is viewing the media content.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the social media stream is
selected based on the content of the interaction stream.
8. The method of claim 1, further including transmitting a
notification to a third user who is a member of the common group
based on the media content and profile information associated with
the third member on the social media site.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the media content and the
interaction region are rendered together in a web browser window
and displayed to the first user while the first user is accessing
the social media site.
10. A system for providing social viewing of media content,
comprising: a media player configured to receive media content from
a media source; and a social media site communicatively coupled to
the media player and providing access to a first user and a second
user who are members of a common group associated with the social
media site, wherein the social media site provides, to the first
and second users, an interaction region configured to allow the
first user and the second user to share comments with each other
regarding the media content via an interaction stream.
11. The system of claim 10, wherein the social media site is
further configured to transmit a notification to the second user
indicating that the first user is currently viewing the media
content.
12. The system of claim 11, wherein the notification further
includes a user interface component offering the second user the
capability of viewing the media content simultaneously with the
first user.
13. The system of claim 10, wherein the interaction stream includes
time-stamp information indicating times relative to the media
content that the comments were shared.
14. The system of claim 10, wherein the interaction steam is
presented to the second user after the first user has viewed the
media content and shared comments within the interaction
stream.
15. The system of claim 10, wherein the social media site further
provides a social media stream to at least one of the first and
second users while the first user is viewing the media content, and
wherein the social media stream is selected based on the content of
the interaction stream.
16. The system of claim 10, wherein the social media site is
further configured to send a notification to a third user who is a
member of the common group based on the media content and profile
information associated with the third member on the social media
site.
17. The system of claim 10, wherein the media source is
communicatively coupled to the social media site.
18. Non-transitory computer-readable medium bearing software
instructions configured to cause a processor to perform the steps
of: transmitting, to a first user, media content via a network;
transmitting, to a second user, the media content via the network,
wherein the second user and the first user are members of a common
group associated with a social media site; and providing, to the
first and second users, an interaction region configured to allow
the first user and the second user to share comments with each
other regarding the media content via an interaction stream.
19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18,
wherein the software instructions are further configured to cause
the processor to transmit a notification to the second user
indicating that the first user is currently viewing the media
content.
20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18,
wherein the software instructions are further configured to cause
the processor to present the interaction steam to the second user
after the first user has viewed the media content and shared
comments within the interaction stream.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Prov. Pat.
Application No. 61/747,583, filed Dec. 31, 2012, the contents of
which are hereby incorporated by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present disclosure generally relates to systems and
techniques for processing, viewing, and selecting media content.
More particularly, the present disclosure relates to shared viewing
of media in the context of social media sites.
BACKGROUND
[0003] In recent years, social media sites such as Facebook,
Twitter, Google+, and the like have achieved wide popularity. Such
sites often allow users to form groups (e.g., "friends",
"followers", "circles", etc.) and share information with other
users in those groups. At the same time, options for viewing media
content have also increased, expanding beyond standard cable
television to place-shifting devices, network streaming, and the
like. Nevertheless, given the vast amount of media content
available, it is often difficult for a user to discover content
that he or she might enjoy. Furthermore, it remains difficult for
users to share their thoughts regarding media content in a
meaningful, social, and enjoyable way.
[0004] It is therefore desirable to create systems and methods that
provide a social context for shared viewing of media. These and
other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent
from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims,
taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this
background section.
SUMMARY
[0005] A method for social viewing of media content in accordance
with one embodiment includes transmitting, to a first user, media
content via a network; transmitting, to a second user, the media
content via the network, wherein the second user and the first user
are members of a common group associated with a social media site;
and providing, to the first and second users, an interaction region
configured to allow the first user and the second user to share
comments with each other regarding the media content via an
interaction stream.
[0006] A system for providing social viewing of media content in
accordance with one embodiment includes a media player
communicatively coupled to a social media site. The media player is
configured to receive media content from a media source. The social
media site provides access to a first user and a second user who
are members of a common group associated with the social media
site, and the social media site provides, to the first and second
users, an interaction region configured to allow the first user and
the second user to share comments with each other regarding the
media content via an interaction stream.
[0007] In accordance with another embodiment, non-transitory
computer-readable medium bearing software instructions are
configured to cause a processor to perform the steps of
transmitting, to a first user, media content via a network;
transmitting, to a second user, the media content via the network,
wherein the second user and the first user are members of a common
group associated with a social media site; and providing, to the
first and second users, an interaction region configured to allow
the first user and the second user to share comments with each
other regarding the media content via an interaction stream.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES
[0008] Exemplary embodiments will hereinafter be described in
conjunction with the following drawing figures, wherein like
numerals denote like elements.
[0009] FIG. 1 is a conceptual block diagram of a system in
accordance with one embodiment.
[0010] FIG. 2 is a conceptual representation of a shared viewing
experience in accordance with one embodiment.
[0011] FIG. 3 is a conceptual view of a status update in accordance
with one embodiment.
[0012] FIG. 4 is a flow chart depicting a method in accordance with
one embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0013] The following detailed description of the invention is
merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the
invention or the application and uses of the invention.
Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any theory
presented in the preceding background or the following detailed
description.
[0014] In general, systems and methods in accordance with the
subject matter described herein provide a social context (e.g., via
a social media site accessible via a network) for shared viewing of
media content while allowing comments, annotations, public
discussions, etc. relating to the media content to be shared as a
group. In addition, notifications that a user is viewing particular
media content may be communicated to "friends" to initiate such
sharing in a social context.
[0015] Referring now to the conceptual block diagram shown in FIG.
1, a system 100 in accordance with various embodiments generally
includes a media source (or simply "source") 102, a media player
104, a social media site 106, and one or more users 108. Media
source 102 is communicatively coupled to media player 104 and is
configured to provide media content (or simply "content") 111 to
media player 104 while receiving information (e.g., a "report" 112)
back from media player 104.
[0016] Social media site (or simply "site") 106 is communicatively
coupled (e.g., via the Internet) to both media source 102 and media
player 104. For simplicity, social media site 106 is illustrated as
a single block, but those skilled in the art will recognize that
social media site 106 might include any number of functional
components (servers, processors, databases, etc.) spread out
geographically while implementing any number of services (web
services, streaming services, etc.). In this regard, "social media
site" is used herein in its conventional sense of a system
(typically a website accessible via a web browser over the
Internet) that allows users 108, 110, etc. to interact with each
other in some fashion and to "follow," "friend", or otherwise
denote other users as members of a common group associated with the
social media site. Without loss of generality, the term "friends"
may be used herein generically to refer to users within the same
group, circle, friendship, or the like, regardless of whether the
mechanism for formation of such groups includes "friending,"
"following," "placing in a circle," or the like. A non-limiting
list of social media sites includes, for example, Google+,
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, MySpace, and
Foursquare.
[0017] Users 108 represent any number of individuals or groups
configured to interact with social media site 106 through
conventional methods, such as laptops, desktop computers,
smart-phones, tablet computers, and the like. In this regard, users
108 will typically have an "account" with social media site 106
such that certain credential are required for logging on and
interacting with the site and others on the site.
[0018] Media source 102 may include a wide range of sources now
known or later developed, including, for example, broadcast
television, cable television, satellite television,
"video-on-demand" or similar sources, digital video disk (DVD)
players and other removable media, video camera systems, video game
consoles, set-top box (STB) systems, Internet media sources (e.g.,
YouTube), and the like. In some embodiments, media source 102
represents a placeshifting device that incorporates all or a
portion of the functionality typically associated with a particular
media source 102, for example: a hybrid STB or other receiver that
provides transcoding and placeshifting features. Such a device may
receive satellite, cable, broadcast and/or other signals that
encode television programming or other content received from an
antenna, modem, server and/or other source. Such devices may also
include a content database to support a personal or digital video
recorder (DVR) feature or other content library as appropriate.
Stated another way, in some embodiments, media source 102 and a
placeshifting device are physically and/or logically contained
within a common component, housing or chassis.
[0019] Media player 104 may be any device, component, module,
hardware, software and/or the like capable of receiving a media
stream (or "content") from media source 102. In various
embodiments, media player 104 is a desktop computer, a laptop
computer, a tablet computer, a mobile phone, a personal digital
assistant, a personal media player (such as the ARCHOS products
available from the Archos company of Igny, France), a conventional
television, or the like. In many embodiments, media player 104 is a
general purpose computing device that includes a media player
application that is capable of securely connecting to media source
102 and receiving and presenting media content to the user of the
device as appropriate. In other embodiments, media player 102 is a
standalone or other separate hardware device capable of receiving
the media stream and decoding the media stream to provide an output
signal that is presented on a television or other display
device.
[0020] It will be appreciated that the various blocks illustrated
in FIG. 1 will typically include a number of additional
conventional hardware and/or software components (e.g., storage,
memory, controllers, digital signal processors, etc.), which have
been left out of the illustration in the interest of simplicity.
For example, media source 102 might include hardware that
incorporates an encoder and/or transcoder module configured to
convert audio/video or other data from into a packetized format
that can be transmitted over a network. Media player 104 is
configured to provide commands and or to report to one or more of
the media sources 102, e.g., to request a desired input signals
from that media source. Such commands may be provided over any
convenient wired or wireless interface, such as an infrared or
other wireless transmitter that emulates remote control commands
receivable by the media source 102.
[0021] In accordance with various embodiments, users 108 and 110
are able to view certain media content together (via social media
site 106) and comment, annotate, or otherwise share information
regarding that media content. Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3 in
conjunction with FIG. 1, an example of such an interaction will now
be described.
[0022] FIG. 2 depicts a media content region 201 in which certain
media content 202 (e.g., streamed video, audio, etc.) is provided
along with an associated interaction region 204 as those regions
might appear displayed within, for example, a conventional web
browser window or via any display coupled to media player 104. As
shown, interaction region 204 allows multiple users (in this
example, "Bob" and "Alice") to comment and interact in real-time
(or at different times) as media content 202 is viewed by the
users. The resulting discussion is referred to as the "interaction
stream."
[0023] In this example, the user providing the comment is provided
in the text stream (or "chat stream") within interaction region
204. In some embodiments, time-stamps relating to a position within
media content 202 may be provided. In various embodiments, users
may share within interaction region 204 annotations, observations,
comments, links to external sites (e.g., websites relating to a
particular show), hashtags (i.e., keywords relating to a subject,
event, etc.) relating to the content, and the like.
[0024] Comments, text, links, images, and other content provided by
users 108 and/or 110 (entered via a keyboard or other user input
method) are received by social media site 106 (e.g., via the
Internet) along with media content from source 102 and/or media
player 104. Social media site 106 then combines the two as shown in
FIG. 2. At any given moment, one user might view media content
received from media source 102, while another views the same media
content from media player 104. That is, the ultimate source of the
media content 202 might be invisible to the users. In other
embodiments, users may select the media source to be used.
[0025] Multiple users may view and comment on media content image
202 in real-time, or may do so at a later time or date. In the case
of delayed viewing, comments made by one or more friends at certain
previous times may be stored and displayed at the appropriate
time--i.e., synched with media content 202.
[0026] In the illustrated embodiment, media content region 201 is
shown directly adjacent and above interaction region 204; however,
the invention is not so limited, and any convenient layout scheme
for the various regions may be employed. An aggregated or composite
display as shown in FIG. 2 might be implemented using a variety of
software environments, including, for example,
HTML5/CSS/Javascript, and may be created client- side (e.g., within
the user's browser), server-side (e.g., at social media site 106),
or a combination thereof.
[0027] Report 112 includes information communicated by media player
104 to media source 102 for the purpose of, for example, reporting
that a particular user is watching or has watched particular media
content. Report 112 might also be shared with other entities, such
as social media site 106 or other external sites.
[0028] In some embodiments, users may be able to simultaneously
view interactions and discussions occurring within additional
social media sites (i.e., social media sites external to social
media site 106). For example, a Twitter stream or other social
media stream 206 relating to the viewed media image may also be
displayed in addition to media content image 202 and interaction
region 204, as shown in FIG. 2. This stream 206 may be determined,
for example, by the content displayed within interaction region
204. That is, social media site may determine, through analysis of
the content of interaction region 204 (including text, hashtags,
links, etc.) that certain comments (e.g., "tweets", ads, or the
like) within stream 206 might be of interest to one or more of the
users viewing media content 202. Stream 206 might appear the same
for all users viewing media content region 202, or may different,
depending upon user-preference or other factors.
[0029] In some embodiments, the friends of a user may be notified
that the user is currently (or had previously) viewed particular
media content, which may be presented individually or as a list.
The notification may be initiated, for example, by media player
104, source 102, social media site 106, or any other component or
system that is able to determine which user is viewing which
content and to report such viewing to social media site 106.
[0030] FIG. 3 generally depicts such a notification 302, in which a
status message is displayed ("Bob is now watching `Game of
Thrones`) on social media site 106, indicating the media content
being viewing and the friend (or friends) currently viewing that
content. The friend is then provided a mechanism (e.g., any
suitable user interface component, such as button 306) to join the
conversation. A thumbnail image 304 (corresponding to a still from
the media content, or corresponding to media content 202 of FIG. 2)
may also be provided, which may be static or may change in
real-time based on what the user is currently viewing.
[0031] The user interfaces associated with the embodiments shown in
FIGS. 2 and 3 and indeed any other embodiments may include any
number of conventional and well known user interface components
(menu items, lists, buttons, check-boxes, and the like), and may be
implemented using any suitable computer libraries/languages (e.g.,
HTML/CSS/JS, Macromedia Flash, a Facebook Widget, or the like). The
invention is not so limited, however.
[0032] Since social media site 106 will generally know and store
(e.g., within a conventional data store) the shared interests,
preferences, "likes," "topical hotspots", etc. of users 108 and
110, it can provide notifications to a user's friends based on
these common interests. For example, social media site 106 may know
that a user Alice is generally interested in the fantasy novel
genre, and that "Game of Thrones" generally fits within this genre.
As a result, the system may send a notification to Alice letting
her know that Bob is currently watching (or had previously watched)
that show.
[0033] The flow-chart of FIG. 4 provides a single example, or
use-case, in which the present invention may be employed. As shown,
method 40--which is described from the point-of-view of social
media site 106--begins with a determination that a first user is
viewing media content. As a non-limiting example, consider the case
where the first user, Bob, has begun to watch a particular episode
of a science fiction series received from a media player (e.g., a
set-top box) that communicates with social media site 106. The
media content may be viewed by Bob within a browser on a desktop,
within a smart-TV, or through any other media player 104. Next, in
step 404, the system determines a second user who is a "friend" or
otherwise within the same social group as Bob, and sends that user
(say, Alice), a notification that Bob is watching the that episode
of the show. The notification may appear as that shown in FIG. 3,
with a thumbnail and a button prompting Alice to join Bob in
watching the episode (step 406).
[0034] If Alice agrees (via clicking a button or the like), the
media content is provided to Alice as well (step 408). At the same
time, an interaction region is provided to allow Alice and Bob to
chat, send links, and so on with respect to the TV episode as it is
playing (step 410). The comments may be time-stamped based on the
time at which the comments were made relative to the TV episode.
One or more social media streams relating to the media content may
also be provided to Alice and Bob while they watch the episode. For
example, a Twitter feed relating to that particular episode or
characters within the episode (e.g., #drwho, #daleks) may also be
provided to Alice and Bob during the episode (step 412). In
addition, the system might know that a third user (say, Chad) who
is a friend of Alice and/or Bob, may be interested in science
fiction, based on, for example, previous status updates, previous
purchases, previous media consumption, previous books read, and any
other information collected by social media site 106 (step 414).
Chad may then be notified that Alice and/or Bob are viewing the
episode, allowing him to socially view the episode as well (step
416). If Chad joins the social viewing, or later views the episode,
he may be able to scroll back through the interaction stream
between Alice and Bob (synched with the media content itself), and
view previous interactions regarding the episode.
[0035] While several exemplary embodiments have been presented in
the foregoing detailed description, it should be appreciated that a
vast number of alternate but equivalent variations exist, and the
examples presented herein are not intended to limit the scope,
applicability, or configuration of the invention in any way. To the
contrary, various changes may be made in the function and
arrangement of elements described without departing from the legal
equivalents.
* * * * *